Circuit controlling device



Oct- 13, 1934 H. c. GRAVES, JR 13765934 CIRCUIT CONTROLLING DEVICE FiledOct. 11. 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Wfow

L ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 16, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT ,OFFICE CIRCUIT CONTROLLINGDEVICE tion of New Jersey Application October 11,

26 Claims.

My invention relates to circuit-controlling devices which may bemanually or automatically actuated, and particularly tocircuit-breakers.

In accordance with my invention, there is provided an indicatingarrangement which discloses whether the contacts are separated or inengagement, and whether the relation of the contacts is the result ofautomatic or manual actuation; more specifically, the position of thesetting member or handle of the breaker indicates whether the contactsare open or closed, and a supplemental device indicates whether thebreaker has opened manually or in response to abnormal circuitconditions.

More particularly, a toggle between the operating handle and the movablecontact structure is broken only upon automatic tripping, and thebreaking movement of the toggle is utilized to effect actuation of thesupplemental indicator, as by release of latching mechanism therefor.

Further in accordance with my invention, the toggle membersare'constructed to preclude accidental breaking of the toggle uponmanual tripping, and more specifically, the distribution of mass orweight of at least one of the toggle members is such that rebounding ofthe handle, if any, is incapable of breaking the toggle to give a falseindication.

My invention also resides in the features of construction andarrangement hereinafter described and claimed.

For an understanding of my invention, and for illustration of one formthereof, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing the positions of the parts when thebreaker is in closed circuit position.

Figs. 2 and 3 respectively illustrate intermediate and nal positions ofthe parts shown in Fig. 1 for automatic tripping.

Fig. 4 illustrates the positions of the parts when the breaker has beenopened manually.

Referring to Fig. 1, the movable contact member 1 having a tip orcontact 2 for engaging the fixed contact 3 is biased toward open circuitposition, as by the spring 4. The operating handle or setting member 5which is pivotally mounted upon pin 6 is connected to toggle link '7 asby pin 8. The toggle member 9 is connected at one end by pin 10 to themovable contact member and at its other end by pin 11 to toggle link 7.

In effect there are two toggles, one formed by members 9 and 7, and theother by member 7 and handle 5. With the contacts in closed posi- 1932,Serial No. 637,220

tion, as shown in Fig. 1, both toggles are preferably slightlyovertravelled. Downward movement of pin 11 of the rst or main toggle byspring 4 is prevented by the stop member 12 and downward movement of pin8 of the second toggle is prevented by the engagement between shoulder13 of the handle 5 and the stop member 14.

The attraction of the main poles 16 of the tripping coil 15 tends tomove the armature 17 in counter-clockwise direction but for normalvalues of current the magnetic restraint imposed by the auxiliary pole18 prevents the armature from moving. For high current values, thesection 19 connecting the auxiliary pole piece 18 to the lower main polebecomes saturated so that the attraction of the main poles predominates,swinging the armature so that its upper end 20 engages the finger 21 oftoggle member 'l and raises the pin 11 over center to break the maintoggle.

For lighter sustained overloads, the armature 17 is forced away from themagnetic stop or auxiliary pole by the cam 22 carried by or integralwith the slide 22a which is guided by the auxiliary pole piece 18 and ismovable by the bimetallic strip 23, or equivalent. The strip may beheated either by passage of current through it or by transfer of heatfrom a coil or heating unit adjacent thereto.

The distance through which the amature is moved from the stop 18 beforethe attraction of the main poles moves the armature to togglebreakingposition is a function of the overload. For light overloads, thedistance through which the armature is moved by cam 22 before theattraction of the main poles is suflicient to actuate the armature isgreater than for heavier overloads, and the time is greater the lighterthe overload.

Upon breaking of the main toggle whether instantaneously for heavyoverloads, or after a time delay for lighter overloads, the spring 4moves the movable contact 2 to open circuit position, as shown in Fig.2. 4The automatic opening of the contacts is eiected leven though thehandle 5 is held in the closed circuit position, Figs. 1 and 2.

Assuming that the handle is free and that the contacts have been openedautomatically, the handle swings to the open circuit position shown inFig. 3 with concurrent resetting of the main toggle. To assist thisaction, there may be utilized the straightening spring 24 at the pin 11,and spring 25 at the handle pivot 6. In the arrangement shown, the pivot6 is f so displaced from the center of gravity of the handle that one orboth of these springs may be omitted.

To reclose the breaker, the handle 5 is swung upwardly to the positionshown in Fig. 1 which vresets the second toggle.

To open the breaker manually the handle is pushed or flipped downwardlyto raise the pin 8 over center breaking the second toggle whereupon thespring 4 separates the contacts and moves the handle to opencircuit-position, Fig. 4.

Thus far described, the circuit-breaker corresponds to the apparatusdescribed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 632,527,filed September 10, 1932,'and although the position of the handleindicates whether the breaker is open or closed, there is no indicationof whether the breaker has been opened automatically or manually.

Circuit breakers of the .aforesaid type are used on distribution panelsand it is desirable that the operator should be able to tell at a glancewhich circuits are closed, which circuits are open, and whether the opencircuits have been opened automatically, in response to abnormal circuitconditions, or manually. It is the main purpose of the present inventionto supply that need.

Referring again to Fig. 1, when the circuit breaker is in closed circuitposition, the indicator 26, which is slidable in the slot 27 of thecover plate 28 of the breaker, is' held in the retracted position bythe, spring catch 29 having a tip 30 engaging the shoulder 31 of theindicator slide to preclude its movement by the spring32.

When the armature is attracted to the main pole pieces, eitherinstantaneously for heavy overloads or after a time for .lighteroverloads, as above described, the latch 29 is lifted permitting thespring 32 to move the slide 26 so that it projects outside of or beyondthe cover 28, Fig. 3. In the particular circuit-breaker shown, when thearmature breaks the main toggle, one of the toggle members, as shown inFig. 2, strikes the end l33 of latch member 29, raising the tip 30 freeof the shoulder 31 of the indicator. If desired, the indicator may bedirectly actuated by the electro-responsive means instead of through theintermediary of the contact system. f

Then as the maintoggle resets and handle 5 moves to open circuitposition, Fig. 3, the spring 32 forces the slide 26 outwardly so thatits end 34, which may be colored for contrast, projects beyond the coverto afford a visible indication externally of the housing that thebreaker has opened in response to abnormal circuit conditions. Theprojecting end of the slide can be felt by theoperator, affording anindication under conditions of insufllcient light for visualobservation.

When the circuit-breaker is tripped manually, the main toggle does notbreak and latch 29 continues to hold the slide 34 in retracted position(Fig. 4). 'I'he position of the handle aflords an external indicationthat the breaker is open and the lack of appearance of slide tip 34indicates that it was opened manually.

As above mentioned, the breaker is tripped manually by pressingdownwardly, as with a linger, upon the projection 35 of the settingmember 5. As soon as the toggle pin 8 moves over center, the spring 4opens the contacts and throws the handle 5 to the lower position, Fig.4. As for quick separation of the contacts, the spring 4 should be quitepowerful, there is a tendency for the handle to rebound, and if the pin11 of the main toggle chances to be under center at that instant, themain toggle breaks and releases the, indicator 26, giving a falseindication. To prevent this the main toggle is maintained inovertravelled condition, or atleast prevented from breaking, during theopening movement following manual tripping, one of the toggle members,preferably link 9, is provided with the depending arms 36 giving a massdistribution which increases the stability of the toggle. lThe spring 24also assists in holding the main toggle straight during its movementafter tripping by hand.

To reclose the breaker, it is lonly necessary to push upwardly on thetip 35 to reset the second or latching toggle, i. e., until the handleis restored to the position shown in Fig. 1. If the breaker is resetafter automatic tripping, the shoulder 37 of the handle during itsmovement to the on position engages the lower end of spring 32 andforces it back, the spring in turn pulling back the indicator 26 so thatits tip no longer projects from the front of the breaker housing. 'Ihecurved rear end of the slide 26 at first cams up the latching tip 30 andas the slide continues to move back the tip snaps down in front ofshoulder 31, as in Fig. 1, to complete the resetting of the device.

l If when the breaker is closed, a heavy overload exists, the armatureat once breaks the main toggle to separate the contacts and to releaselatch 29 even though the handle is st ill held by the operator, theparts assuming the positions shown in Fig. 2. Upon release of thehandle, it at once moves to its lower or opencircuit position and theindicator 26 slides outwardly to indicate that the breaker has trippedbecause of abnormal circuit conditions. The spring 32 which actuates theslide 26 may also effect or assist movement of the handle 5 to openposition.

For multi-circuit use, a plurality of breakers as shown may be disposedadjacent one another with their operating handles connected to a commonactuator bar or equivalent. With this arrangement, all circuits may bemanually opened or manually closed simultaneously, and any one or moreof the breakers may open automatically withcut'affecting the remainingbreakers. Upon such automatic tripping, the indicator of the particularbreaker is released to indicate the abnormal condition of the circuitincluding it.

Or the armatures for several coils, as 15, disposed in different legs ofa circuit, or different circuits, may upon abnormal current conditionstrip all poles and indicate in which circuit, or leg of the circuit thatthe abnormal condition exists.

While for purposes of explanation, I have illustrated a speciilc form ofcircuit breaker, it is to be understood that my invention is not limitedin its application thereto, but is co-extensive in scopev with theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts, manuallyoperable means for effecting actuation of said contacts,electroresponsive means for eilecting actuation of said contacts,structure whose position indicates the circuit relation of saidcontacts, and means for fis indicating .Whether the position of saidstructure is the result of manual or automatic actuation of saidcontacts comprising means responsive solely to one of said actuatingmeans.

2. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts, manuallyoperable means for effecting engagement or separation of said contacts,electro-responsive means for effecting separation of said contacts,structure movable to one position during engagement of said contacts bysaid manually operable means and movable to a second position uponseparation of said contacts by either said manually operable means orsaid electro-responsive means, and means for indicating whether saidsecond position of said structure is the result of manual or automaticactuation comprising means responsive to actuation by saidelectro-responsive means.

3. A circuit-controlling` device comprising contacts, manually operablemeans for opening and closing said contacts, electro-responsive meansfor opening said contacts, and indicating structure mechanicallyactuated upon opening of said contacts solely by said electro-responsivemeans and reset only by contact-closing movement of said manuallyoperable means.

4. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts, means forholding said contacts in engagement, a visual indicating structurebiased to an indicating position, means for restraining movement of saidindicating structure, and electro-responsive means for releasing saidholding means and substantially concurrently releasing said restrainingmeans.

5. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts, means forholding said contacts in engagement, a visual indicating structurebiased to an indicating position, means for restraining movement of saidindicating structure, electro-responsive means for releasing saidholding means and substantially concurrently releasing said restrainingmeans, and manually operable means for reclosing said contacts andsubstantially simultaneously resetting said indicator.

6. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts, manuallyoperable means for opening and closing said contacts including a togglewhich remains unbrokenV for operation of said contacts by said means,electro-responsive means for breaking said toggle to effect opening ofsaid contacts, and an indicator actuated by breaking of said toggle.

7. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts, togglesfor holding said contacts in closed position, manually operable meansfor breaking one of said toggles to effect separation of said contacts,electro-responsive means for breaking another of said toggles to effectseparation of said contacts, and an indicator responsive to breaking ofsaid second toggle only.

8. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts, togglesfor holding said contacts in closed position, manually operable meansfor breaking one of said toggles to effect separation of said contacts,electro-responsive means for breaking another of said toggles to effectseparation of said contacts, and an indicator responsive to breaking ofsaid second toggle only and reset during resetting of said first toggleby said manually operable means.

9. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts, seriallyconnected toggles for holding said contacts in closed position,structure movable to open circuit indicating position upon breaking ofeither of said toggles, electro-responsive means for breaking one ofsaid toggles, manually operable means for breaking the other of saidtoggles, and an indicator for indicating whether said contacts wereseparated automatically `or. manually comprising means actuated bybreaking of one only of said toggles.

10. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts, meansfor holding said contacts in engagement, manually operable means fortripping said holding means, electro-responsive means for tripping saidholding means, a visual indicating structure biased to an indicatingposition, and restraining means therefor released upon tripping of saidholding means by one only of said tripping means.

11. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts, meansfor holding said contacts in engagement, manually operable means fortripping said holding means, electro-responsive means for tripping saidholding means, a visual indicating structure biased to an indicatingposition, restraining means therefor released upon tripping of saidholding means by said electroresponsive means, and restoring means forsaid indicating structure actuated by said manually operable means onlyduring reclosure of said contacts after automatic tripping.

12. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts,structure for manually opening and closing said contacts including atoggle which remains unbroken for actuation of said contacts by saidstructure, electro-responsive means for breaking said toggle to effectseparation of said contacts, an indicator actuated by breaking of saidtoggle to indicate automatic tripping of the device, and means forpreventing the rebound of said structure upon manual operation thereoffrom breaking said toggle thereby to preclude a false indication by saidindicator.

13. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts,structure for manually separating said contacts comprising a togglewhich remains unbroken during said separation, electro-responsive meansfor breaking said toggle to effect separation of said contacts, and anindicator actuated by breaking of said toggle to indicate automatictripping, said toggle having the characteristic that its massdistribution precludes breaking of the toggle by rebound of saidstructure upon manual separation of said contacts.

14. A circuit-controlling device comprising separable contacts, manuallyoperable actuating means therefor including handlestructure movable toone position to effect engagement of said contacts and to anotherposition to effect separation thereof and a toggle remaining unbrokenfor said manual actuation of said contacts, electro-responsive means forbreaking said toggle to effect separation of said contacts, means forresetting said toggle when broken and for moving said handle structureto said second position, and an indicator actuated upon breaking of saidtoggle.

15. An enclosed automatic circuit-breaker having a manual control andcontact-position indicating member outside of enclosure, and anothermember giving indication only when the circuit breaker has openedautomatically.

16. A circuit controlling device having separable contacts, means vforholding the contacts lso lll)

in closed position comprising a system of toggles with two knees, manualmeans i'or breaking solely the rst knee, and electro-responsive meansfor breaking the second knee, and means operative upon separation ofsaid contacts'ior indicating which toggle knee was broken ilrst.

17. A circuit-breaker comprising separable' contacts, means for manuallymoving said contacts into and out of engagement, means for holding saidcontacts in engagement, electro-responsive tripping means.' anindicator, Ameans for restraining said indicator in inoperative positionreleasable only by said electro-responsive means, and means forresetting said indicator normally out of the path of said ilrst meansand engageable thereby only subsequent to release of saidrestrainingmeans by said electro-responsive tripping means.

18. A circuit controlling device comprising separable contacts, manuallyoperable means for opening and closing said contacts, electro-responsivemeans for independently controlling the opening of said contacts, andvisual indicating structure biased to an indicating position andnormally latched in a non-indicating position,

said indicating structure being unlatched solely in response tooperation of said electro-responsive means.

19. A circuit controlling device comprising separable contacts, manuallyoperable means for opening and closing said contacts,velectro-responsive means for independently controlling the opening ofsaid contacts, and visual' indicating structure biased to an indicatingposition and normally restrained in a non-indicating position, saidindicating structure being released solely in response to operation ofsaid electroresponsive means and being reset by movement of saidmanually operable means.

20. A circuit controlling device comprising separable contacts, manuallyoperable means for opening and closing said contacts, a thermal elementfor independently controlling the opening of said contacts, and visualindicating structure biased to an indicating position and normallyrestrained in a non-indicating position, said indicating structure beingreleased in response to operation of said thermal element.

21. A circuit controlling device comprising separable contacts, manuallyoperable means for opening and closing said contacts, a thermal elementfor independently controlling the opening of said contacts, and visualindicating structure biased to an indicating position and normallyrestrained in a non-indicating position, said indicating structure beingreleased in response to operation of said thermal element, and beingreset by movement of said manually operable means.

22. A circuit controlling device comprising separable contacts, meansfor normally holding said contacts in engagement, a visual indicatingstructure biased to an indicating position and normally restrained in anon-indicating position, and means including an electro-responsivedevice for initiating separation oisaid contacts and movement oi' saidindicating structure to indicating position.

23. A circuit controlling device comprising separable contacts, meansfor normally holding said contacts in engagement, a visual indicatingstructure biased to an indicating position and normally restrained in anon-indicating position, and means including a thermal element forrendering said holding means ineiective and eiecting separation of saidcontacts and substantially simultaneously releasing said indicatingstructure.

24. An enclosed automatic circuit breaker having an external manualcontrol member operative to close and open said breaker, a visualoverload indicating structure biased to an indicating position andnormally restrained in a non-indi'- cating position, andelectro-responsive means in'- cluding an overload thermal elementeiective to initiate opening of said breaker and movement of saidindicating structure to indicating position.

25. An enclosed automatic circuit breaker including overload responsivemeans, and a visual overload indicating structure biased to anindisition, and released in response to opening of said breaker uponoperation of said overload responsive means but unaffected by manualopening of said breaker.

HERBERT C. GRAVES, Jn.

